{"id":1627,"date":"2025-09-15T17:11:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T17:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/international\/?page_id=1627"},"modified":"2025-09-15T17:13:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T17:13:57","slug":"helpful-terms","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/international\/helpful-terms\/","title":{"rendered":"Helpful Terms"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"F-1 Visa<\/strong> \u2013 the type of visa international students receive to study in the US.<\/p>\n

I-20 Form (Certificate of Eligibility)<\/strong> – document issued by a SEVP-certified school certifying that a student has been admitted to a full-time study program and has demonstrated sufficient financial resources to stay in the United States. The I-20 form allows foreign nationals to apply for an F-1 student visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.<\/p>\n

USCIS<\/strong> \u2013 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services<\/p>\n

SEVIS<\/strong> – Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, part of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement that handles all matters related to international students and visitors.<\/p>\n

SEVP<\/strong> \u2013 Student and Exchange Visitor Program. In order to enroll international students, schools must be SEVP-certified.<\/p>\n

CPT <\/strong>– Curricular Practical Training \u2013 training that is an integral (i.e., required) part of the student\u2019s curriculum. It must be authorized by the DSO\/PDSO.<\/p>\n

OPT<\/strong> \u2013 Optional Practical Training \u2013 up to 12 months of full-time work authorization in student\u2019s field of study. Students can apply for this authorization while still studying in their program (pre-completion) or after they complete their program (post-completion). The application for OPT is made with USCIS and takes a few months to approve.<\/p>\n

RCL<\/strong> \u2013 Reduced Course Load \u2013 permission to enroll below the full-time requirement. It must be authorized by DSO\/PDSO in advance.<\/p>\n

DSO<\/strong> \u2013 Designated School Official \u2013 an employee assisting and overseeing students who are studying at a US institution on a student visa.<\/p>\n

PDSO<\/strong> \u2013 Principal Designated School Official – a DSO with added responsibilities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Have more questions? Check out our FAQ page<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

F-1 Visa \u2013 the type of visa international students receive to study in the US. I-20 Form (Certificate of Eligibility) – document issued by a SEVP-certified school certifying that a student has been admitted to a full-time study program and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":314,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1627","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/314"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}